Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $61.91 Million Position in Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE:KMI) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,259,503 shares of the pipeline company’s stock after selling 32,201 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kinder Morgan were worth $61,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMI. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kinder Morgan in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kinder Morgan during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Kinder Morgan during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its position in Kinder Morgan by 143.6% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 1,352 shares of the pipeline company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Kinder Morgan

In other Kinder Morgan news, President Thomas A. Martin sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.34, for a total transaction of $492,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 879,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,049,685.68. This trade represents a 2.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP John W. Schlosser sold 75,461 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.65, for a total transaction of $2,011,035.65. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 220,681 shares in the company, valued at $5,881,148.65. This represents a 25.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 129,461 shares of company stock valued at $3,504,136. Company insiders own 12.64% of the company’s stock.

Kinder Morgan Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KMI opened at $26.84 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $59.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.94, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.94. The company’s fifty day moving average is $27.79 and its 200 day moving average is $25.25. Kinder Morgan, Inc. has a 52 week low of $17.00 and a 52 week high of $31.48.

Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The pipeline company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by ($0.01). Kinder Morgan had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 17.31%. Research analysts anticipate that Kinder Morgan, Inc. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Kinder Morgan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd were given a dividend of $0.2875 per share. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 3rd. Kinder Morgan’s payout ratio is currently 98.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on KMI shares. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Kinder Morgan in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $26.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Kinder Morgan from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Kinder Morgan from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Kinder Morgan from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.14.

Kinder Morgan Company Profile

Kinder Morgan, Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in North America. The company operates through Natural Gas Pipelines, Products Pipelines, Terminals, and CO2 segments. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment owns and operates interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline, and storage systems; natural gas gathering systems and natural gas processing and treating facilities; natural gas liquids fractionation facilities and transportation systems; and liquefied natural gas gasification, liquefaction, and storage facilities.